The Organ Thief
by penguinfighter-d-chan
Summary: One of NYC's elite models is murdered and it's up to Mac and his team to solve the murder while also dealing with the city's underground
1. Ordinary Day

_A/N: First story here in the **CSI: NY** fandom...This follows the same universe as in my **CSI: Miami **fanfiction, especially **Spin, Spin Sugar**. Well, not much to say her but reviews are always welcome!! Yes, that's a man's name, inside joke.  
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characters (c) CBS

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1, Ordinary Day_

Tina Percival was a beauty to behold. A supermodel with perfect blue eyes and straight blond hair. Her 5 foot 10 inch frame and finely tuned composition got her into _Vanity Fair_, _Vogue_ and other illustrious fashion magazines. Her proud catwalk, fortune and acrid treatment of anyone below her made the 37-year-old veteran a bona fide diva…what a pity.

0000

CSI Stella Bonasera recognized her from some covers hot off the New York newsstands, albeit a little differently than others. She parked her Rover just besides the bright yellow tape as her partner arrived. "I'd guess this is it." Detective Mackenzie, aka Mac, Taylor stepped out of his car, kit in tow and sarcastic grin on face. "What gave it away, genius?" Bonasera laughed. "The hundred or more paparazzi, the spur-of-the-moment memorials, I could go on." Taylor replied while the two met up with the police force.

Detective Donald "Don" Flack greeted them with a hand signal to usher the two CSIs through the mob. "Doesn't get any more glamorous than this. How're you guys doing?" "It's a bit early, Flack. What's the occasion?" Stella inquired. "Tina Percival's the occasion and I'll let the scene talk for itself." "Tina Percival, as in New York's new face for 2006? She's dead?" Bonasera inquired; this woman was in the high profile range. "The one and only. Only priors are for assault and battery on two personal assistants in 2004 and 2005." Flack answered, raising his eyebrows.

Up to the penthouse located near scenic Central Park and the CSI team saw he was referring to; the plush apartment was covered in bloody trails and puddles. "Even a Tarantino movie couldn't come up with this much blood." Mac commented as his partner entered the premises. "Wanna bet?" Danny Messer, fellow CSI, retorted while taking a picture. " Just saw 'Grindhouse' parts one and two on HBO; it's a pretty good contender to this place. The trail starts from the door and follows up to the master bedroom." "Which begs the question, how's the master bedroom?" the ex-Marine inquired. "If I told you, it would ruin the surprise." Messer coaxed with his kit.

Danny wasn't kidding when he meant; the room was immaculate, as if no violence had occurred in there save the bed. The bed sheets were lined with a neat puddle of blood, concentrated on the abdominal area. The response ME along with Sheldon Hawkes was already on scene taking notes when Bonasera tapped her shoulders. "Detective Bonasera, I assume." "You assume right; COD?" "Preliminary points to exsanguinations from a sharp object, probably a knife. Sid will have more details once we get the body to the lab." Dr. Alice Wendy, a rookie ME, replied.

"Up close and personal. What did you find, Hawkes?" Stella continued while taking pictures of the body. "Nothing other than a portable fountain of youth." The former medical examiner responded. "A what?" "You know: Botox, collagen, and for some reason, snake venom and an unknown vial of cream." Hawkes said, holding up a Versace makeup bag. Stella playfully winced, "That cream is mostly made of amniotic fluid." Sheldon gave Bonasera a rather disgusted look. "Hey, don't kill the messenger. Scientists found out that amniotic fluid supposedly stimulates activity in skin cells, accelerating repair for age damage. Snake venom oil acts like a natural Botox, paralyzes muscles that move somewhere you don't want them to."

Mac stopped cold for a second once he heard Stella's explanation. "I'm sorry, I'm in the wrong conversation. I'll be going now." "No, Stella and I were discussing beauty tips." Sheldon joked. "Like I said, wrong conversation. I'll check the master bath room for any poison."

The bath room, like the main bed room, was devoid of any blood but unlike its adjacent quarters, looked as if someone had raided it and tried to put it all back in it's place but ran out of time. Taylor noticed a slightly opened strong box, no forced entry. The detective tried to lift viable shoeprints but no go. _Who breaks in, kills a person, raids their personal belongings but takes nothing?_ Mac thought as he examined the strong box closer.

This idea was proved wrong as a torn manila envelope appeared and its items gone. "Someone went through a lot of trouble get whatever was in here." Taylor said to himself as he sealed the envelope. A scan of the room and the CSI left to rejoin his coworkers outside.

As they processed the rest of the master bedroom, the team found no signs of a break-in but there were of a struggle; misplaced items strewn across the floor along with some papers and photo proofs. The pictures themselves had a watermark that read _Avant Garde_ along with matching serpent-and-dove logo.

"Looks like we found Ms. Percival's agency; let's give them the bad news." Mac announced as he packed up the bathroom evidence. "Something tells me they're not going to miss her too much." Stella retorted while taking some pictures of the bed table; the surface was laden with tabloids and nighttime facial cream. "This woman clearly has an obsession with herself."

A quick session over at the kitchen revealed nothing out of the ordinary for the victim except maybe an uncorked bottle of wine. "Found this; might give us some prints." Danny stated as Sheldon allowed the ME to take the body away. "Pack it and send it to Fingerprint; we have a full day's worth of work ahead." Bonasera ordered, finishing up her end and praying that there was enough coffee on the machine to at least get the preliminaries done.


	2. Lithium Flower

A/N: Another chapter just in case I get wrapped up in other stories and homework...Reviews are welcome!!!

characters (c) CBS

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_2, Lithium Flower_

Once at the medical examiner's lab, Dr. Sid Hammerback stood in slight awe at the dead woman on his table. "You're serious; this is HER?" Sheldon simply nodded his head. "You know her?" "Not personally but she made for great tabloid fodder since day one." The medical examiner explained. "I think she was aware of that." Hawkes replied before leaving, "Give me a call once you got a COD!" "Will do." Sid bade his former colleague and prepped the bone saw.

0000

Meanwhile, back at the victim's penthouse, the sun rose against the urban landscape, rays bouncing off hundreds of windows while Mac and Stella were finally able to step out of the crime scene. "Not a bad way to start the day." The half-Greek investigator said as she hopped on her car. "I beg to differ; with all of this attention, I'll be getting a call from the District Attorney about our nonexistent progress." Taylor replied with a wince. "Flack's already calling in her last contacts prior to death and Sid's with the body."

The NYPD Crime lab was buzzing with commotion about Det. Taylor's newest case; some wanted to take a picture of the dead woman while others spoke about her latest diva spout. "What's going on?" Lindsay Monroe inquired as she finished up her breakfast. "Tina Percival was killed last night, apparently due to a botched B-and-E." Adam Ross, fellow CSI and technology expert responded as he snuck in some coffee. "Who?"

"She was New York's most well paid model and fashion consultant, and a great villain to boot." Adam explained, arousing a most comical look from the Montana native. "Her assistants came in on a monthly basis with bruises." "I see. Well, if this weren't Mac's case, I wouldn't have given her priority status; I have two shootings on my table already." Lindsay remarked with bit skepticism.

0000

Twenty minutes later, after dropping off the police car, Mac immersed himself in lifting any viable prints from the torn envelope. But something didn't feel right once he entered his office; the room seemed to be several degrees hotter than the rest of the lab. The detective grinned as he dropped off his folder.

"You know you can't be here during work hours, Aiden." He said while sitting down. "You have got to be kidding; you found me out already?" a disembodied voice resonated within the crystal walls. "Hard not to; you heat up anywhere you go." Mac continued. A female laugh was heard as the dearly departed Aiden Burn materialized.

"No one can really keep something from you, huh?" the ghostly CSI replied. Ever since her demise at the hands of DJ Pratt, the dead detective had remained in the lab where she had worked on for so long. "Why are you here?" Taylor inquired; Aiden wasn't one of those roaming spirits, she always had a purpose. "Not to give you advice from the Great Beyond if that's what you're asking about." Burn responded with a smile.

"I am, however, here to check this Percival case out." "No badge, no deal…and don't go running off to Stella or anyone on the case." Mac scolded mildly. "Fine, I'll just go and scare one of the new guys." Aiden was not pleased with her former boss' manner of running things but who was she to argue? The ghost then disappeared in a puff of flames just as Adam entered the room.

"Were you talking to someone?" "Not really. What do you have?" Mac smirked as he spotted Aiden's ghost stick her tongue out. "Well, I ran the logo and modeling company that you dropped off; came up with an address over at SoHo. Really high-end stuff." The CSI relayed. "Good, I'll tell Flack and be on my way. Tell Danny to call me once he gets fingerprint analysis from the wine bottle."

By that time, Messer was already applying the fingerprint powder for the wine bottle he had found and was prepping his camera to capture it without risk of damages. After a couple of photos, he uploaded a composite of the images up into AFIS. "Hey Danny!" Lindsay greeted warmly. "Heard you need some help with your two shootings." The CSI replied with a coy smile. "You heard wrong. If anything, I just need some bullet work and I'll be all set for tonight's raid."

Danny suddenly realized the date and chuckled. "Oh yeah, your first night raid! Damn, couldn't pull a shift to help you out. So, where is it?" he inquired interestedly. "South Bronx. Any tips?" Monroe answered. "Three things; one, stick to whatever Mac or Stella tell you to, they know better about these things; second, you might want to bring some extra ammunition of both kinds and third (and this one, take it from personal experience) don't wander off."

The woman laughed before giving her coworker a kiss on the cheek. "Will do!" Messer then began to fake-cry and said, "Our little Montana's growing up!" "Screw you." Lindsay said before returning to her post.


	3. Obsession

A/N: Last chapter in this upload...now it gets a bit weird...Reviews are welcome!

characters (c) CBS

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3, Obsession

A while later, Stella and Sheldon appeared on Dr. Hammerback's autopsy table just as the ME was closing up, grin on his face. "You found cause of death already? That must be a world record." Hawkes stated with amazement. "Can't say it was hard; death was caused by massive blood loss due to some serious damage to the aorta." Sid reported as he pointed out a nearly invisible gash on the corpse's chest.

"So what's with the smile?" Stella queried cautiously. "Your victim is missing a liver." "A what?" "A liver and by the looks of the organ tissues and blood vessels, she hasn't one in quite some time." the medical examiner continued as he lifted the skin flaps covering his Y-incision to further solidify his claims. Both CSIs were struck. "How can a person like Tina Percival walk around without a liver? The Liver metabolizes most nutrients into the blood among other important digestive functions," Sheldon reasoned fruitlessly.

Stella then searched around for any synthetic organ substitutes to no avail. "Maybe she was going through some experimental weight-loss process; I don't know." "That's what I thought at first but the liver isn't a very common organ to operate for weight loss; most go for the stomach, which by the way, shows signs of a gastric bypass for Ms. Percival." The ME responded while pointing at the telltale scar tissue. "You got us, Sid; we'll look into it as soon as Don and Mac come back from Avant-Garde." Hawkes stated as he took a tissue sample from the area in question.

0000

Meanwhile at Avant-Garde Modeling, both Taylor and Flack scanned the place while a photo shoot was taking place. "Excuse me!" a shrill voice called them from behind. A svelte woman dressed in office wear stomped her way to the detectives. "Unless you're here for a session, I'm going to ask you to leave." She commanded with a hint of contempt in her tone.

"Sorry ma'am, NYPD business. Name's Don Flack and this is detective Mac Taylor from the Crime Lab." Flack presented himself and his shield while the former marine observed. "Lucille Turner. If this is about that Tina, Avant-Garde has no responsibility over her actions outside this building." The woman remarked acridly. "Actually, it IS about Ms. Percival; she's dead." The face of Ms. Turner's face was priceless. "She's what?" To answer her question, Mac showed the crime scene picture. "Oh my God…may we talk somewhere more private?" Lucille requested. "Sure."

At her office, the manager sat down on her chair and searched her drawers for the victim's portfolio. "You know the saying that some models don't get out of bed for no less than ten grand? Tina wouldn't open her eyelids for less than fifty." "Hefty price tag for a picture, don't you think?" Don remarked as he flipped through the pictures. "She had one of the best body structures in the business, well worth it. We have contracts with anyone under the sun thanks to her." Lucille explained. "Except for 2004 and 2005, thanks to her temper. According to public record, you lost five contracts due to the charges Ms. Percival had against her." Mac added, handing over the document.

"'Was she becoming a liability?' is that what you're implying, Det. Taylor?" Turner inquired back. "This business is cutthroat but I can assure you Ms. Percival's potential outweighed her misdemeanors. For a woman that age to look like that; there's money to be made." The conversation was going nowhere relevant so Mac requested for the agency's employee records and fingerprint samples.

Once the two left the building, Flack glanced over to the former Marine and grinned. "What do you think, Mac? Anything viable?" Taylor shook his head, "Not really. Danny hasn't called yet so no AFIS hit plus I haven't found any evidence of another person besides the vic ever holding the envelope I found in the bathroom. All we have is the crime scene right now. Did you find something on your side?"

"Nada except for the assistants, who are getting reacquainted with the Police station after a while, and Ms. Percival's ex-husbands. Problem is, two of them are flying in from other parts of the country and the first one's already dead." Don explained while reading his notes. "Face it, we have absolutely nothing unless something else pops up."

Flack then grinned, "The only comfort I'm getting tonight is that night raid you and Stella set up." Mac chuckled for a moment and responded as he took a look to the afternoon skyline, "We have to keep this away from the DA's attention until after it takes place. I don't want any trouble."


	4. Nightingale

A/N: Quick update with a night raid to boot XD Sorry y'all, no implicit pairings here other than Danny/Lindsay...I do believe Det. Angell might like a wild man :D Reviews are welcome!

PS: My sister/beta pointed out some mistakes, and sorry for overhyping some stuff. Gotta pay more attention to detail.

characters (c) CBS

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4, Nightingale _

After returning from one of the strangest autopsies in years, both Sheldon and Stella went right into Ms. Percival's Youth Bag. As it turns out, most of the products was the real deal with costs averaging between $150 to a whopping $950 an ounce for the varied assortment of youth creams and serums. Bonasera then began extracting samples to check if any other DNA other than the victim's was present.

"Did you know that this company uses venom from the California Rattler and the African Cobra?" Hawkes read out loud. "So if used incorrectly, this facial cream could kill someone? There's an interesting way to murder someone; using their vanity against them." Stella replied. "But that makes the whole missing liver issue a bigger mess; if that built-in filter isn't there, the body would absorb the venoms almost in a pure form, causing the classic signs of snake poisoning."

The computer beeped and even more disappointment came in; no one except Tina had handled the creams. "Tell me you have something." They both heard Mac's voice boom. "Nothing that fits cause of death. However, Sid found out that our victim was missing an organ for at least a few weeks." The former ME responded as he handed over the results. "This case keeps getting stranger and stranger; no one at Avant-Garde claimed they were in the vicinity of the crimes so Don and I collected fingerprints and DNA samples." Taylor added dissatisfied.

"All we can hope is that someone other than the vic drank from that wine bottle and tried to steal the envelope." The former Marine then looked at his watch and signaled Stella. She then bade Sheldon farewell and hurried to Mac's side.

"So, which gang are we going to negotiate tonight?" Bonasera asked as she and Mac walked down the hall. "Hopefully the Bronx chapter of Las Cadenas; they have a bogey in there that might be useful for us." Mac replied while allowing a nearby Flack and Lidnsay into a conference room. On top of his desk was a map of the New York City, dotted with red and blue markers.

"Flack, did you get back-up?" the female CSI requested. "Sure did, thirty SWAT guys all rearing to go." The detective reported as he closed off the area from prying eyes. "Good. Lindsay, this is your first raid so we'll have to give a rundown." "Ok, let's have it."

Mac drew a deep breath and began with, "Because of its history, New York has more than 3000 preternatural gangs in service, making this city unstable for humans and what the higher-ups call 'bogeys'. The purpose of the night raids is to convince these groups to work for the NYPD; we let them operate as they would but under our jurisdiction. Blue dots stand for groups and factions that already work for us while the red dots are the possible candidates."

"The reason they're called 'night raids' is because they only time these gangs meet up is at nightfall. Should they not agree with our clauses or pose too much of a threat to the city, we have the right and authority to dismantle the gang in that moment. Right now, NYPD needs the Bronx area to solidify its claim there." Stella continued. "And how are we going to persuade the gang to join the NYPD group?" Monroe asked, arousing a smirk from Don. "You'll see when we get there."

0000

At the abandoned Torentino factory, the agreed upon meeting place by the NYPD and Las Cadenas, Yesser Melendez, the gang leader waited as his guests arrived. Everyone from the lab showed up in bulletproof armor, ready for a full assault. Mac stepped forward and introduced himself to the smug leader. SWAT was to enter on his mark once they were done with the negotiation.

"Mac Taylor, NYPD." "So I heard on the phone; what do you guys want?" Yesser hissed. "We want your gang to switch sides." The young man scoffed and shifted position. "Why should my people do that?" "Your people can continue on but what we really want is you." Yesser was now intrigued and drew closer to the detective.

"Why me?" Taylor grinned for a moment and replied, "You took your position with fear, didn't you?" "Might've but you haven't answered my question." Yesser's eyes glowed for a brief moment. "You could be a valuable asset to us, especially considering that you ate the gang's last boss alive." Stella added, standing by Mac's right side. The man's accompanying followers were shocked, that wasn't how he told the story.

They immediately raised their guns at Melendez and fired away. The next moment was a blur of a bright light but once Mac and Stella and everyone else recovered their eyesight, the factory was lined with blood and dismembered limbs. Yesser was covered in scarlet, licking his mouth clean from his meal as well as a few of survivors. Lindsay was shell-shocked; how did that thing move so fast?

"Sorry man, we were really hungry." He said in a gravelly voice. "How'd you know about us?" "We have our ways." Mac answered with a glare. "Well you guys are wasting my time, such a powerful demon like me will never join the likes of you and your…" Yesser found he unable to finish his sentence as Mac pinned him down with unnatural strength. His left eye shone amber, further proving his point. "Not so strong now, aren't you?" he growled as his hand changed from that of a human to its monstrous self.

The other monsters in the gang suddenly lounged at the NYPD team; the inevitable fight had started. One of the attackers headed straight to Monroe, catching her off-guard, only to be tackled into submission by Flack. "Get to Stella's position now!" the detective roared as he too transformed into his inner demon. The CSI quickly did as she was told; firing a couple of shots at the enemy monster before providing Bonasera some much needed back up.

"Need any help?" Lindsay asked as she blew the head off one of Melendez' cohorts. "Just cover me until Mac can finish the negotiation!" Stella exclaimed in response as she warded off two deviants with a hand gesture. "And how long will that take?!" The Montana native shouted back, no way they could keep up with the attackers. In the foreground, Flack finished off Lindsay's attacker and changed his focus towards the dueling Mac and Yesser.

Both demons were already in hand-in-hand combat when Mac growled, "Stay out of this one, Don." The detective quickly nodded and leaped back into the thrashing mosh pit. Yesser smiled a sickening grin as he launched a cautionary snarl. "You got lucky." He launched off the floor and drove his bladed hands into the detective's stomach. Taylor smirked and replied, "That's what they all say." The detective then swiped his claws on Yesser's neck, beheading the idiot almost instantly.

In that moment, Yesser's men stopped their attack as soon as their boss' head hit the floor. Just as Stella suspected, the crone demons' hive mentality was their weak point, leaving them with no free will of their own. "What just happened?" Monroe managed to inquire as she shoved off one of the now stationary gang members. "Negotiations have concluded. Are you injured, Flack?" Bonasera responded as she scanned the area.

"I'm fine. Their side, ten dead strong." Don replied as he switched back to his human form, shuddering off the last remnant of the demon instincts. "So are they…?" Lindsay started before being interrupted by Mac. "The ones that Melendez converted have been subdued; the rest of the human crew will be taken down by SWAT in a couple of minutes." The detective then ordered the tactics team to steamroll in, quickly finishing up the night raid.

Taylor switched his attention to the now leaderless demon pack and, in an indistinct language, ordered their submission to him. With their ability to think on their own destroyed, the crones simultaneously bowed their heads and simply walked out. As the SWAT team withdrew the Las Cadenas gang members, they also removed all the narcotics, weaponry and related paraphernalia, further damaging the gang's strength in the underground.

"One more down, eh Mac?" Stella remarked as Taylor cleaned Yesser's blood off his hands. The damaged tissue quickly reconstructed itself, leaving no evidence of the normally fatal wound other than a gaping hole in Mac's Kevlar armor and shirt. But the detective paid no attention to the comment; his mind was already back on the Percival case. Bonasera rolled her eyes as she and Lindsay headed to the police car.


	5. Serendipity

A/N: Short but sweet (yes, I go for Mac/Stella)...not much to say other than sorry for the delay (working on three other fics is writing hell) Reviews are welcome! DISCLAIMER: Characters (C) CBS

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5, Serendipity_

As the human SWAT team cleared out the rest of Yesser's crew out of the building, Lindsay took out her kit and followed them in. "Where are you going?" Stella inquired. "I'm taking inventory of the gang's drug and weapon assets; with this many human members, they must have gotten greedy." The look of concern in the senior CSI was dismissed by Lindsay with, "I'll be back in the lab in an hour." "I want a full report by the time you get back," Stella requested while ordering a SWAT officer to accompany her.

Monroe wasted no time and listed all 20 crates that Melendez had left behind: seven contained 5-pound bags of 65% pure cocaine, five others held weaponry that nearly rivaled the police department's gun vault and the rest were miscellaneous ammunition that covered the spectrum from .15 to the dreaded Devastators, the same ammo John Hinkley used to try to kill then-president Ronald Reagan. "I thought these things were discontinued," she noted out loud.

"They were," a suave voice replied from behind the CSI, startling her to withdraw her gun. The stranger revealed himself to be a man with a sharp suit, sunglasses and a Chelsea smile etched into his face. "Who are you?" Lindsay questioned, her hand unwavering on the trigger. "A businessman of sorts, Ma'am; I saw you and your team completely decimate Yesser's crew…I'm impressed but a bit let down with your leader," the mysterious man replied as he took his tinted glasses to reveal a missing left eye. "He could've done so much more…By the way, tell him Schiller says hello," he requested before disappearing into the ground.

Not to wait for any more surprises, Lindsay packed her kit and briskly walked out of the warehouse. _Mac's never mentioned anyone by the name of Schiller during the raid rundown, nor do I remember anyone by that name on file_, the Montana native analyzed as she dialed Danny's cell phone number. "Messer," "Hey, Danny; how's the bottle from the Percival case going?"

The CSI picked up the nervousness in Lindsay's voice and chuckled for a bit, "Well, I got some viable prints that didn't match the victim's so it's going good. Did you get a good scare from wondering off?" he joked. Monroe mentally smacked herself in the forehead; she disobeyed the most innocuous-sounding rule, much to Danny's delight. "That's not the point right now; do you know a man named Schiller?" "Nope, why?" At that moment, Lindsay dismissed the encounter as a figment of her imagination and agreed to meet with Messer back at the lab. "It's nothing; I'm heading back."

00000

The results arrived in a most timely fashion as Mac stepped into Danny's office. "What do you have for me?" "The wine bottle from which the vic drank from had some good prints that didn't belong to her. At first, I ran them through the usual databases but got nothing. Then I thought about modeling agencies, so I ran them and boom; we got a suspect," Messer explained while handing over the print-out from the machine and spotting the gaping hole in his boss's shirt. "Don't ask; I'll get this to Flack as soon as the Las Cadenas report comes in," Taylor stated; now things were looking good for this case.

As Mac walked past Stella's station, he could see her already immersed in her task and decided to knock in. "Are you okay?" he questioned for which he got a nod. "Just sorting out Melendez's species for future references. That and the fact that Tina Percival was walking around without a liver," Bonasera replied before yawning.

"Some of us can go without sleep for a couple of days; go get some shut-eye," Taylor added with a chuckle. "That's because some of us aren't exactly human therefore cheating," the fellow CSI snapped playfully but Mac had a point; the fight during the night raid had exhausted her not to mention taking samples from each and every one of the gang members. "We can pick this up tomorrow morning and by then, we'll have an answer to that," Mac further assured her as he accompanied her to the break room.


	6. Competition

A/N: New chapter up! Thanks for the reads! Reviews are welcome! DISCLAIMER: characters (C) CBS

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6, Competition

"The fingerprint Danny lifted from the wine bottle found at Tina Percival's home came from Rayne Willard aka Wilhelmina Britannia from Britannia Talent Co," Mac relayed to Don while they met in a nearby coffee stand. "Are you telling me we're in the crossfire of an agency war? The boys back at the station are laughing it up as it is," the detective groaned humorously, much to the other's amusement. "Apparently so; we still have to examine every angle of the evidence, however ridiculous it may seem," Taylor concluded as he carried out the rest of the drink for his team.

While handing out fresh coffee, the detective located Stella over at Questionable Documents, examining the envelope he found in the victim's safe. "Did you catch some sleep?" "Four hours now leave me alone, you're breaking my concentration," she shooed him away but not before ripping her drink from Mac's hand. "Suit yourself; I'm going to go check on Lindsay and see if she's gotten something. And no telling Aiden, she's roaming around and she's itching for information," Taylor shrugged before leaving the area.

As soon as he was out of reach, Aiden materialized behind a closet. "Is he gone?" "Yep, now you help me with this document and I _might_ consider telling you something," Stella grinned as she handed the envelope to the ghostly CSI. Using her preternatural existence, the specter heated up the document to the point where any grooves or ink might've shown up. "I see the victim's address but nothing else," Burn analyzed as she returned the document to Stella.

"Are you getting anything from what was inside of it; any residual emotions or something?" Bonasera inquired. "Actually, yeah; I'm getting a little bit of hostility but mostly greed by the victim's part; this envelope must've been important to her career at some point in her life," the ghost continued, "but even with the reformed dead laws, my opinion isn't worth anything to the DA."

Stella bit her tongue; Aiden was right. The Dead Laws was the common name given to five laws that were legislated specifically for the supernatural community in the state of New York. Those five laws gave most of the bogeys citizenship, rights and responsibilities, and of course, an expansion of what homicide and other crimes were accounted for. _But any accusations or opinions on evidence provided by spirits aren't admissible by law;_ Bonasera rolled her eyes at that loophole. "Thanks anyway Aiden."

While walking down the hall to meet with Monroe, Adam caught Mac's attention with a knock on the glass door. "You rang?" "Yeah; I was analyzing the victim's Blackberry and I found her Recent Call lists; most of them are work-related (I checked them out) but she called her assistant and one Wilhelmina Britannia both two hours before death," Ross explained as he handed the printout to his superior. "Flack and Stella were just about to pay Ms. Britannia a visit; good work Adam," Mac stated with a grin.

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Like their previous visit to Avant-Garde Modeling, Britannia Talent was also in the middle of a photo shoot; this time it was nude painting of world masterpieces. "Get a load of _that_; wish I could convince Jess to do something like this," Don commented while observing the models. "She'd kill you," Stella spat back rolling her eyes.

Wilhelmina came up from behind the two detectives and inquired in an acrid tone, "May I help you?" The woman gave an especially dirty look towards Bonasera only to get brushed off. "Why yes, you can tell me why your prints are on a wine bottle found at the scene of Tina Percival's murder," Flack cut in while presenting his badge. "A gift perhaps; I do remember giving her a Chardonnay for last Christmas." Wilhelmina responded rather quickly, taking a quick glance to the picture.

"Strange; I remember you and Tina duking it out during the Holidays, all caught on film," Stella quickly intervened. "That was staged for the tabloids; who doesn't love a good cat fight?" the modeling director added haughtily. "Yeah, but here's the thing; our lab can and will put you in Ms. Percival's apartment. Plus, you haven't explained to us why she'd call you two hours before she was killed," the CSI finished off while presenting Ms. Britannia with a copy of Adam's findings.

Flack took out his handcuffs and stated, "We can do this the easy way or the hard way; either way it'll be a _great_ photo op for you." Wilhelmina groaned and picked to go voluntarily. "You take her down to the station and I'll get Hawkes in here ASAP; that woman's hiding something and it's not just her age," Stella said while dialing on her phone.

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Lindsay concluded her inventory report just in time as Danny snuck in a playful kiss. "You're not getting from the night raid from me," she said with equal mirth. "Remember this: I switched with you so I have the right," Messer stated with mock authority. "Really? I thought it was Mac who assigned whoever goes on the raids. Anyways, I gotta go back to my shoot-outs, Angell just called me asking for those results. Did you find me any info on Schiller?" the Montana native replied, filing the last of the paperwork on a sealed envelope.

"Ran your description, no one comes up as a match. I think we, by which I mean you, should ask Mac himself," Danny answered as he scratched his head. "No worries, I can ask him when I run into him." An awkward silence took place until he asked, "So, you saw him and Flack…" "Yes and you were right, ok?" Monroe spat back, arousing another round of laughter from the fellow CSI as they both left the Archives room.


	7. Plastic Goddess

A/N: The plot thickens as a new suspect enters the fray...thanks for all the reads! Reviews are welcome! DISCLAIMER: CSIs (c) CBS

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7, Plastic Goddess

"I'd hate to interrupt your busy schedule but we need you to answer some questions regarding last night," Flack said to open the discussion to what could be best summed up as Botox Barbie; years of cosmetic procedures had left Wilhelmina Britannia with an extremely limited emotion range. "I visited Tina at her apartment last night. She said she had to discuss some matters regarding that dead horse she called a career. She even suggested I bring her another bottle of Chardonnay," the manager responded arrogantly while Bonasera brought out some envelopes and swabs. "The way I see it, it's like the pot calling the kettle black," Don shot back, receiving a glare as an answer.

"That's a beautiful bracelet, Ms. Britannia," Stella observed; the jewels in the item glistened against the incoming light from the interrogation room's windows. "It's a Muramaki original; he gave it to me from a party celebrating my twenty years in the business. Why?" Britannia cautiously replied. "Just wondering if I could examine it for a moment," the CSI added. The former model handed the bracelet unsure of what the detectives would find.

Stella then swabbed most of the jewelry then sprayed the two dyes; almost instantly, the cotton tip turned pink. "That's not something you want to see, Ms. Britannia. What happened when you got there?" Wilhelmina shuddered for a moment but composed herself before replying, "When I got there, I didn't see Tina but I saw all that blood, I knew something was wrong. I opened my bottle, drank to get some confidence and went in her bedroom. I ran out."

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In the meantime, Sheldon promptly arrived at Britannia Modeling and began canvassing the area for any clues. He got access to the agency's files and was able to examine their records. _Mostly model résumés, performance reports, events…_ Hawkes thought until a piece of paper fell out of one of the folders. It was a list of names; some of them tagged "AGT", "BMA" among other denominations. But what worried the former ME most was the fact that some of the names had been crossed out. "Tina Percival was murdered but isn't on this list; why?" he asked himself.

The rest of the search yielded even more evidence as Hawkes matched some of the names to models working in various agencies not only in New York City but in other boroughs like Manhattan and the Bronx. The CSI also took with him Britannia's day planner where he too found the same names. _This is getting interesting_.To Sheldon's surprise, he found the most damning evidence against Wilhelmina Britannia inside a large trash drum; a lily colored suit covered in day-old blood.

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"That's a pretty tidy story but two things are wrong with it; one, there is no evidence of you _ever_ entering the victim's bedroom and two, that bracelet has arterial blood splatter on it. Either you killed Tina Percival or you were there the moment she was stabbed!" Flack accused, strengthening his gaze on the possible suspect. In that instant, Wilhelmina snapped and yelled, "Fine! I was there! I did it! That slut cheated me out of a longer career!"

As the detective called in patrol to take Ms. Britannia away, neither he nor Stella were satisfied with that confession. "No way is this case over; it can't be that easy," Bonasera said while Don leaned against the door. "I was thinking the same thing. If she just told us the truth, that means the clothes she wore last night must be covered in Tina's blood," he thought out loud when Stella's cell phone rang. "What did you find Hawkes?" "Come down to my station and you'll see," the ex-ME assured his coworker before hanging up. The CSI excused herself from the interrogation room and headed back to the lab.

Once there, Stella found Hawkes about to stab a mannequin while some soiled clothes hung overhead. "Don't tell me those are the clothes-" "The one and the same; that's our victim's blood on them," Sheldon nodded after being sprayed by red dye. "Good thing, she just confessed to killing Ms. Percival," she stated when she noticed the lineup of dolls. "Then she's lying; I replicated the murder and I didn't get a similar blood pattern. Care to join me?" he invited his coworker to substitute Ms. Britannia in the reconstruction.

They tried different positions, from standing besides either the killer or the victim but no match. It wasn't until Stella stood behind Hawkes that the two finally arrived at a comparable result. "Wilhelmina was standing _behind_ the killer. That means she's covering for him," Bonasera concluded to which Sheldon agreed. "I'll get these to Mac; he's checking out Percival's assistant."

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The former Marine sat across Annie Fleetwood, a mousy and meek woman that up until forty-eight hours ago was Tina Percival's personal assistant. "Miss Fleetwood, I understand that this is a hard time but I need to ask you some questions about the night your employer was murdered," Mac started while she silently wept. "It's all right; I hope I can be any help," Annie replied. "Tina called you to her apartment two hours before she died; what did she want to discuss?"

"She was talking about renovating her contract with Avant-Garde so I brought the paperwork. She then slapped me, told me I was an imbecile and fired me on the spot," the woman answered while showing Taylor the bruise. "I mean, I've worked with her for the last ten years and she suddenly fires me for no good reason. After that, I packed all my things and took a cab all the way to Albany to my mother's," the assistant continued as she presented a receipt.

_Everything checks out_, Mac concluded after verifying the document; it was an hour and a half of travel, excluding Ms. Fleetwood from the murder. "Miss, do you recognize this envelope?" he inquired as he showed the assistant the torn envelope. "Not really; looks like any old office envelope to me," Annie replied earnestly. "Then you're free to go," the CSI concluded but not before requesting Ms. Fleetwood to leave her BlackBerry. "Fine by me, I guess."

As soon as Mac exited the police station and returned to the lab, Stella caught him up with the newest developments in the case along with the rest of his team in the conference room. "So we have a witness to the murder who isn't willing to talk but willing to take the blame and evidence that backs her claim," Taylor sighed; this was a slam-dunk case but with the wrong person. "I could go on with the DA but it won't feel right," Don shrugged in response to the idea.

"We can pressure her to talk but-" Stella said when Lindsay cut in with, "Here's the report on last night's raid; every last ounce and bullet accounted for." "That must've been horrible; thanks Lindsay!" Bonasera showed her appreciation with a smile. "One other thing; while I was taking inventory back at the warehouse, I ran into a man named Schiller." The chills went up Mac's spine when he heard that name. "He told me to say hello to you, Mac. You know him?"

A deathly silence overcame the room for a second until Taylor responded with a heavy, murderous tone of voice, "Of course I know him; he's the one that made me into a demon in the first place."


	8. September 11

A/N: This chapter deals with September 11th so if you don't feel comfortable with it, you can skip the italic parts. In there, there's a character that's more prominent in my **CSI: Miami** story arc, cookie to whoever can find him! Reviews are welcome! DISCLAIMER: CSIs (C) CBS, Dr. Kino (c) my twin sister

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8, September 11

Mac and Stella knew exactly who Schiller was, and both remembered all too well how the detective ended up with his eye…

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_The detective ran to the scene where two towers now burned. The echoing screams of those trapped and those in terror motivated him to send out a rescue team to the North Tower. He did his best to maintain composure and lead on, but he knew Claire was in that inferno._

_He couldn't remember exactly what he said in that moment but it had to do with getting everyone out before something worse would happen. Right then, the horrible booms of collapsing metal and concrete filled his ears…_

_As the debris storm settled, Taylor rushed to the center. The landmark buildings had disappeared from the skyline, taking his wife with them. In the state of shock however, he still noticed an individual run into the chaos. The detective tried to stop him but he quickly realized that the individual wasn't going into the disaster for all the right reasons. He grabbed his gun, removed the safety feature and followed the being into the now silent quarter._

_After treading in the dangerous site for a while, the detective lost sight of his target and immediately began helping other survivors try to escape. As he helped a woman, the entity snuck up from behind. The female's screams were his only warning before suddenly being ambushed…_

_Mac felt around his face and found the empty socket where the optical organ should be. Somehow, he was missing his left eye, yanked out completely from the rest of his body. The pain then began to overflow his senses; it was unbearable and real. With his right eye, he could see the entity stare and mock him. In its hand, Taylor could see a small white orb with blood covering it; that bastard, whatever it was, had his eye. He could see how it licked and played with it._

_He remembered screaming at the top of his lungs to get it back, only to provoke a laughing fit. He fired his gun and by completely missing the entity, worsened his situation. The creature then devoured the eye in one gulp. In his primal rage, Mac tackled the being to the ground, pinning him to the debris. The wrestle was a blur; all he knew was that he had to get back what he had lost at all costs._

_Next thing Taylor knew, he was in the emergency room of the nearest state hospital. A tall man with straight black hair and differently colored eyes smiled at him earnestly, holding a file and a clipboard. __"Hello, my name is Dr. Kino and I'll be attending you during your stay…__How are you feeling, Mr. Taylor?" he asked innocently._

"_Could be better," Mac recognized all of the emergencies in the ER area; they all came from the same place. He had lost Claire, his nation was in a state of panic and now he was blind by one eye. He'd be no help to the men in blue back at the site._

"_Mr. Taylor, the ER found this in your hand when they finally found you. Now, I don't mean to upset you or anything, given the circumstances, but I may help you with your present condition."_

"_The thing you killed over when we found you was…I don't know how to put in a way you can understand, a powerful…" The doctor then finished the question in a very hushed tone. "…demon."_

"_And you think I'll believe that load of shit? I just lost my wife…" Mac snarled at the practitioner, his reply only a sigh.__ "__Believe what you will. But the truth is that in the process of you killing the demon, you forcibly removed its eye and shot him twice in the head. I can help you get your eyesight back with said organ." The doctor explained calmly._

_Taylor paused to think; the eye would become infected if his body refused and he would lose his ability to see completely. On the other hand, this could work…_

"_What's the catch? There's always a catch." Mac asked under his breath. __"__You lose half your humanity. You can choose which part, your soul or your body; either way, you won't be human anymore," Dr. Kino explained as he signed off some papers. "Whatever you choose to keep or discard the demon's eye…" "I'll do it," Taylor responded without giving it a second thought. The doctor could see the determination in the detective's eye and agreed with him. "I'll start the preparations; in the meantime, you must call someone you can trust with this." _

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"So you called Stella? Why?" Messer asked while Mac's team was too engrossed in the story to react. Bonasera quickly intervened with, "I was to be his actuary." "Actuary? Like a contract?" "_Exactly_ like a contract."

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"_Sorry I took so long I-Oh my God…" Stella stopped dead in her tracks when she saw Mac's bandages. "It's okay; Dr. Kino needs to speak to you," the wounded man assured her with his remaining gray eye. As soon as the two were out of the room, Dr. Kino lead her to his office and with closed doors explained the situation. "So why am I here? Can't you just operate him?" Bonasera asked still confused over the ordeal._

"_The operation is merely an enabling mechanism but for this contract, there should be documentation. Mr. Taylor has made his decision and he trusts you to help him through this," the physician continued while rubbing his eyes. "Then tell me what exactly will happen to him if the surgery is successful?"_

"_He will undergo twenty-four hours of pain and suffering while his body…the point is this; you will be there and will sedate him when you see fit. You must deny him each and every request he makes during that time period," Dr. Kino stated firmly, added more weight to the situation with a steely gaze. "He will scream at you, he will say horrible things to you, he'll even tempt you but you must remember that until those 24 hours are up, that isn't the Mac Taylor you know. But I promise you, that man will come back."_

_Stella sighed deeply before asking, "What are the clauses?" "Clause actually; all he wants to do is find his wife," A light of hope switched on inside Bonasera, "You mean if he finds Claire, he goes back to being human?" The physician nodded. "Then let's do it."_

_After signing the contract, the operation to attach the eye onto Mac's empty socket took three hours; with his coworker starting the clock the moment Dr. Kino gave the OK. Taylor was then isolated in the Quarantine section, where the hospital wasn't attending any 9-11 victims. Twenty-four hours… _

_But each minute became an hour once the anesthesia wore off; Stella could hear her dear friend scream in agonizing pain soon enough. Tears went down her face as she saw Mac begged her from anything ranging from raw meat to shooting him in the head; anything to get rid of the pain. Stella only had five syringes full of morphine, enough to knock him out for three hours at most. Strangely enough, she never heard a single bad thing or any attempts at bribing her._

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"In the end, I only used three syringes, to allow Mac enough time to sleep it off. By noon the other day, he woke up," Stella continued back in the present, her heart heavy with the painful memory. "The deal was done but you wouldn't know it."

"I felt I was still the same inside but my body wasn't my own anymore…" Mac concluded to his awe-struck audience while looking at his hands. Suddenly everything in the Percival case made sense; the missing liver, the envelope. "Tina Percival had a contract," Taylor stated as he returned to his office. As everyone else filed out, Lindsay still had a doubt not from Mac but for Flack.

"Mac's story explained why _he's_ part demon but why you?" the Montana native questioned the detective, only to get a chuckle as her response. "Remember the building bomber case; the one where I nearly died?" Don replied. "Yeah; it was a miracle you survive…oh." "Mac donated his blood and I accepted the terms of his deal." Flack clarified before returning to the station to follow up any leads.


	9. Contracts and Wishes

A/N: Sorry I took so long with this update! This chapter deals mostly with the mythos used for this series (as well as the series I have in CSI: Miami) to better understand what the hell Percival get into. Thank you for the reads and reviews are welcome!

CSIs (c) CBS

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9, Contracts and Wishes

As the team made their way to what the PECU division called the Records Room, Danny asked, "You lost me at 'contract'; what does your life story have to do with the case we're investigating?" "For starters, we now have a motive as to why Ms. Percival was murdered and why we can't find her liver," Taylor stated as he typed in "Inalienable Laws of the Preternatural Community" in the projectable computer, "but first, you have to understand how contracts work…Stella, take the floor."

Bonasera cleared her throat before starting off with, "As you know, angels and demons are real and can act upon the general human population, such as Mac here. They can also establish agreements with humans: demons call them contracts while angels refer to them as wishes. Because humanity is a commodity in itself to both sides, they had to decree unbreakable laws to level the playing field: angels don't want demons to have the upper hand and vice versa."

"So we're just poker chips to either side? Well, that just brought my ego down considerably," Adam commented, not at all pleased at this vision of the world. "If you want to see it like that, then yes," Mac replied with a weary smile. "The laws themselves are pretty clear on what they can and can't do. If one side goes above the other, there are penalties to be served by a third agent called Reapers and they don't discriminate between wings and claws."

"What is relevant to the case is what a contract with a demon consists: it behaves like a human contract only that the collateral can vary from the receiver's fortune to even his soul," the senior CSI continued while scrolling down to the particular section of the document. "The main difference, however, comes from the fact that once a contract with a demon starts, it is binding."

"Binding as in?" Lindsay inquired with interest. "As in not even the contracting entity can stop it; one would have to request a higher-ranking demon to reverse it. Wishes work the same way. Once the contract has been fulfilled, the contractor collects his or her collateral and goes on to the next one," Mac concluded, now bringing up the Percival case once more. "Tina Percival probably exchanged her liver in order to become the celebrity she was…the missing document is probably her written contract."

"So all we have to do is track the demon that made the bond in the first place!" Danny concluded when another question arose, this one from Hawkes, "But how do you prosecute a demon?" This one brought a smile to both Stella and Mac. "Just because humans aren't as strong as demons are doesn't mean they don't have power over them; New York is the leading state in establishing preternatural legislation than makes both angels, demons and Reapers liable for their actions."

"Then that leaves us with why the demon would've taken the contract with it in the first place; it doesn't make any sense," Stella reasoned. "It does when he's got something to hide," Mac added as the team dispersed. The CSI supervisor then noticed the worry on his partner's face and asked, "What's wrong, Stella?" Bonasera shook her head and replied with a sense of melancholy, "Just that it isn't easy to forget the day you made your deal. I mean, it's been seven years and _now_ Schiller wants to make his appearance?"

Taylor instantly understood what she was aiming at and sighed, "I never saw him again after 9/11…he knows he can't fulfill my contract so I think he' getting antsy to get his eye back. Who knows? It might be the only chance I get to become human again." "Or it could be a trap." _That too,_ Mac thought. Contracts dealing with a demon in which body parts, including blood, were involved were much more complicated than those he had just explained to his team.

"Either way, we'd better finish up the case before Percival's contractor skips town or makes another unfortunate deal," he concluded as he resumed searching through a printed version of New York's supernatural laws while Stella joined Hawkes in shifting through Britannia's documents. _She knows just a little too much to simply be a victim…_


End file.
